Always You
by goshinote
Summary: AU. Inuyasha Takahashi returns to his hometown after three years only to run into the girl that defined his teen years: Kagome Higurashi. As they meet again, old feelings rise and an old heartbreak comes back to light. One-Shot. Complete.


Hello, everyone! It's been a very long five months since my hiatus began. I worked the entire summer aside from a couple out-of-state trips I took.

I've been sporadically writing during what little free time I have had, and that produced a bunch of one-shots. This is one of them. I've based it very loosely on an indie movie I watched a while back and on a Pearl Jam song. Again, very loosely based on them but those two things are what sparked this story. Also, a song is mentioned that is in English…let's just pretend they know what it means hahaha. Also, special shout-out to JulyyFire for reading this story and giving some helpful hints. Thanks, July! :)

So. Am I still on hiatus? A more detailed update is in the A/N at the end of this story.

_*The songs referenced are In Your Eyes by Phil Collins and Every Heart by BoA*_

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or its characters. All rights to Rumiko Takahashi.

**Always You**

He walked into the store and inhaled deeply. It smelled the exact same: sweet with hints of chocolate, caramel, and peppermint.

As he walked through, he found that all of the aisles were in the same order and the candy-filled barrels were still in the front; he found that despite the years that had passed since he'd left this town, those old barrels had withstood the test of time.

His long, silver hair swished on his shoulders as he bent over to smell his favorites: homemade sea salt caramel squares. He grabbed a small plastic bag and put several pieces in it.

Memories filled him as he stood up and sighed quietly.

The only thing that had changed was him.

He only wished his visit hadn't been for the reason it was; it would make the short trip to his hometown less bittersweet.

Suddenly feeling an overwhelming wave of sadness, he decided it was time to leave the candy shop. It had become too much.

He was the third person in line at the cash register, which had a fresh coat of paint on it. He remembered carving his initials in that counter years ago, and he almost chuckled at the thought that it was probably for that reason that the counter had been painted.

_"__What if we get in trouble?" she'd asked, concerned about what they were planning._

_He gently tugged on her hand as they walked up to the vacant counter._

_"__No one's behind the counter right now," he replied. "And it's not like we're stealing anything." The girl, still hesitant, finally nodded and cracked a smile. _

_"__Here's to forever," she said. He grinned at her as he pulled out the small pocket knife and began to carve the first letter before handing the knife to her to carve the second._

_I + K._

He'd never been caught for it, nor had the woman that had carved her own initial next to his. Well, not that he knew. He'd left before he'd found out.

A few moments later, he stepped up to the register and set his candies on the counter as he got his wallet out to pay.

"Inuyasha?"

At the sound of the painfully familiar voice, he looked up and into the blue-gray eyes he'd gazed into countless times so many years ago.

"Kagome?" Inuyasha replied incredulously.

The difference in her was subtle, but obvious to him: her black hair was longer and hung to her waist, her eyes, though the same color, looked older and wiser as if she'd been forced to mature too quickly. A thousand memories rushed through him, some more painful than others.

"Hi," Kagome said, as if in disbelief. "It's been a while…three years now, right?" Inuyasha nodded, almost stunned into silence.

"Yeah," he confirmed. "Just about." Kagome stared into his golden eyes.

"What, um, brought you back?" she asked. Inuyasha hesitated.

"Well, my mom…" he began, "she got sick and passed away a few days ago. I'm here to plan the funeral and clear out her house." Kagome's eyes widened.

"Inuyasha, I'm so sorry," she said sincerely. "She was an amazing woman." Inuyasha grimaced.

"Yeah, she was," he agreed. "She loved this town. Even though she moved a year ago, she never sold that stupid house because she still wanted to feel connected to this place." Kagome seemed surprised.

"Oh, wow. I didn't realize she had moved." Inuyasha shrugged.

"Yeah," he replied. He couldn't help but smile at his mother's sentimentality. "She left a bunch of old crap there so I'm trying to go through it and then figure out what to do with the house." Kagome gave a small smile.

"That sounds like her. So…you're just in town for a little while?" Inuyasha nodded.

"Yeah…probably a week. Maybe less. I haven't really figured things out yet."

A throat cleared behind him and he turned to see several people had lined up behind him.

"Oh, my bad," he said as he turned back to Kagome. "I'm just getting the caramels." Kagome smiled as she finally rang him up.

"I see that hasn't changed," she teased lightly. "You always were a fan of these." Inuyasha smiled back at her.

"I couldn't come to town and not get any," he replied. "I guess I'll find out if I'm still addicted to them." Kagome laughed as she took his money.

Kagome finished the transaction, and Inuyasha found himself staring into her eyes again.

_"__They're really blue," he said. "Like…so blue." _

_She laughed. "And yours are really gold…like…so gold!" He'd chuckled._

_"__I guess it's fitting that the two people with the weirdest eyes in the entire school are together, right?"_

"Well, it was good to see you," Inuyasha said. Kagome's smile faded.

"You, too."

Inuyasha picked up the bag of candies.

"Goodbye, Kagome."

"Goodbye, Inuyasha."

And then he left.

His heart was racing as he walked out of the store. He was surprised that Kagome was working at that store. She'd been aiming for a nursing degree when he left, but he remembered their frequent trips there and found that it wasn't that much of a surprise after all. If the nursing degree hadn't worked out, this is the exact place he would have expected her to work.

When he walked past the window, he glanced in to see Kagome ringing up the next customer. His heart constricted a bit before he continued walking.

That evening, he found himself laying on his bed in his childhood bedroom. His mother had left all of his old high school track and wrestling trophies on display, along with his old cassette tape collection. He stood up and walked over to peer at the tapes.

He didn't realize he was looking for a specific tape until he found it. Pulling it out, he took it over to his old cassette player and popped it in.

The song he knew by heart began to play and he closed his eyes as he turned it up as loud as he could handle. Sinking to the floor, he put his head in his hands as the familiar lyrics and feelings it evoked coursed through him.

_"__It's in your eyes, Kagome…"_

He remembered murmuring that to her when they listened to it together. It was a play on the title of the song, and she always smiled brightly when he'd said it.

Inuyasha was almost surprised that the tape still worked. They'd listened to it a million times.

As soon as the song ended, he started it over again. Before he could resume his melancholy position on the floor, he heard a knock on the door. Not bothering to turn the music off, he made his way down the stairs and to the front door. Upon opening it, his eyes widened.

"Kagome?"

Those eyes he knew so well pierced his own.

She glanced away hesitantly.

"Um, I came to see if you wanted any help clearing the house out. I figured it would be a pretty big job and maybe you needed an extra hand."

After a moment, Inuyasha nodded and opened the door as a silent invitation for Kagome to come inside.

He heard her laugh quietly when she walked in.

A small smile was on her face when he met her gaze.

"The song," was all she said.

Their song was still blasting from upstairs, and Kagome seemed to have had the same reaction as him. Her eyes became sad and held a hint of longing.

_"__What do you mean you've never heard this song?" Kagome's voice sounded dumbfounded. _

_Inuyasha blushed, embarrassed by her surprise. "I just haven't. It's not like it's a big deal." Kagome laughed, already used to his gruff demeanor and, somehow, still loved him._

_"__Well, it's time to introduce you to some good music," she announced._

The memory faded as quickly as it had come.

He turned around, choosing to ignore it.

"I was gonna start in the kitchen," he said as he began to walk down the hall. "She left a bunch of old dishes that I'm just going to toss."

He'd grabbed some boxes the previous night with the intent to start packing as soon as he arrived, but he found that he couldn't bring himself to do it.

He was glad Kagome was there. At least he wasn't alone.

Inuyasha grabbed one of the boxes he'd left in the kitchen and took it over to the china cabinet.

"It looks exactly the same," Kagome commented quietly. Inuyasha paused and looked at her.

"Yeah," he murmured.

"So what have you been up to?" she asked. "How is your life?"

"Working," he replied. "I have a good job as an architect. You?"

"Wow, that's great," Kagome said with a smile. "I know you always wanted to do architecture. I've just been working, too. I finished my nursing degree and got a job at the hospital in town." Inuyasha was surprised.

"Why were you working at the candy store then?" he asked. Kagome smiled.

"That's a side job for fun," she replied. "I like the memories it brings back." Inuyasha couldn't help but smile.

"Makes sense," he commented. "You always loved that place." Kagome laughed.

"You did, too," she teased. "Probably more than I did." Inuyasha chuckled.

"Yeah, you're right."

Kagome smiled at him and grabbed another box.

"Are you tossing everything in the kitchen cabinets, too?" she asked. Inuyasha nodded.

They worked quietly for a little while, with an old, silent passion slowly settling around them.

He pulled a small bowl from the back of the china cabinet and felt another pang of sadness.

"Remember this?" he asked Kagome. She paused what she was doing and looked over.

"Your mother kept that?" she asked in disbelief.

The bowl, while small in size, was gargantuan in memories.

_"__What if she hates it?"_

_Kagome rolled her eyes at Inuyasha's concern. "She's going to love it," she reassured him. "Just like she loves you." Inuyasha finally smiled._

_"__And you," he added. "She loves you, too, Kagome." Kagome wrapped her arms around his neck._

_"__And I love you, Inuyasha."_

He stared at that stupid bowl. Kagome and Inuyasha had made it as a gift for Inuyasha's mother when they were teenagers. They'd both been terrible at art of any type, so they'd simply bought a plain bowl and painted it a light green with sorta-ugly cherry blossoms on it. They'd carved their initials in the bottom, much like they had on the counter at the candy store.

"Our initials are well-preserved," he commented as he examined it. "Unlike at the candy store." Kagome laughed.

"They painted over that counter as soon as they found the initials," she replied. "It was only about two years ago that they finally found them. Luckily, I don't think anyone realized it was us." Inuyasha chuckled as he put the bowl back in the cabinet.

"I think this is a keeper," he said. Kagome smiled and turned back to her task of clearing the dishes out of the kitchen cabinets.

A few moments later, they heard the tape begin to skip. Inuyasha frowned.

"I guess it finally gave out," he commented as he left the kitchen and headed upstairs to his room. Kagome quietly followed him.

When they reached his room, he went over and turned off the cassette player. Upon turning around, he saw Kagome peering at his trophies.

"I remember this tournament," she commented as she looked at one of his wrestling trophies. "It was the last one of senior year. You won by a landslide." Inuyasha came over to stand next to her.

"Man, that was forever ago," he murmured. He couldn't help but glance at Kagome. She looked back, and when their eyes met, he saw the young girl he'd loved so long ago cheering him on from the sidelines, kissing him without hesitation when he'd won that tournament.

_The crowd roared behind him and he stood up, ripping off his helmet as he felt arms wrap around his waist._

_"__You did it!" Kagome, always Kagome, the girl that had wormed her way into her heart and stuck herself on it like a tattoo._

_He looked down at her and smiled, feeling something in his chest he'd never felt before._

_She leaned up and kissed him, an out-of-character act for her; she had never been a fan of PDA._

_As if reading his mind, she pulled away and looked up into his eyes._

_"__It's a special occasion," she teased before kissing him one last time before everyone else came to congratulate the new victor._

Kagome smiled.

"It feels like a lifetime ago," she replied quietly. "Then again…I suppose it was." Inuyasha turned away, no longer able to meet her gaze.

He'd left three years ago, the move unexpected after a harsh ending with Kagome that had left him without a reason to stay. The memory hurt, so he pushed it out of his mind. He was a new person now, and he was sure Kagome was as well. It was pointless to bring up the past.

"So…since we're up here, maybe we could just go ahead and clear this crap out," he suggested. "I'm gonna go get some more boxes." He walked out of the room and headed downstairs. He took a deep breath and mentally shook himself.

Kagome was a chapter of his life in a book he'd stopped reading a long time ago. Too much had changed; there was no sense in dusting the book off and rereading it.

But then again…what harm could it do?

When he went back to his room, he saw Kagome standing in front of his closet, one of his old shirts in her hand. Her face was buried in it, and he saw her silently inhale.

She blushed when he caught her doing so. She immediately tossed it to him. "It still smells like teenage you."

He took the shirt and smirked. "So like too much cologne?"

Kagome laughed. "Exactly." He held the shirt up to his nose, much like Kagome had just been doing. He nearly gagged.

"_This_ is what I used to smell like?" he asked in disbelief.

Kagome giggled and nodded. "The exact same." Inuyasha was horrified. It was like a mix between a boys' locker room and old cologne. Yuck.

"Well," Inuyasha began as he chucked the shirt into the box, "I can assure you that I smell much better than that now." He looked up in time to see another blush come onto Kagome's cheeks. This time, it seemed much more…grown-up.

They were quiet for a moment, just peering at each other.

"So did you still go to Shikon University?" she asked, breaking the odd silence. Inuyasha nodded.

He moved to his over to his trophy shelf and began putting the trophies in a box. "Where did you wind up going?"

She moved over to start packing up his CDs. "Goshinboku College," she replied. "It's small and only about thirty minutes away. It was…a good fit for what I was looking for." Inuyasha nodded.

"That's great," he replied. "I'm glad things worked out for you."

Their eyes met, and just like that, there was the longing that had become so intense that night. There was something else there…and he was afraid to admit what he knew it once was…and might be again.

Love.

_They were laying out on a blanket under the stars. The field behind Inuyasha's house went on for about two acres, and they always went to that one spot way at the end of the property to stargaze and just be together._

_"__Kagome," Inuyasha began, "are you happy?" Kagome rolled onto her side with her head propped up on her hand to look at him._

_"__Very happy," she assured him. "Are you?" Inuyasha nodded without hesitation._

_"__I'm more than happy," he replied. "I'm…um…" Kagome's eyes filled with concern._

_"__What's wrong?" she asked. Inuyasha rolled onto his side, mirroring Kagome with his body turned toward her._

_"__Nothing is wrong," he said quickly. "But…there's something I want to tell you." Kagome looked at him, quietly patient._

_"__I love you," he blurted. Kagome's eyes widened. Inuyasha panicked at her expression; he couldn't tell how she would react._

_"__I mean, you know," he said quickly, "like I think you're great and pretty and funny and nice and just…amazing…" Kagome was silently staring at him._

_"__I'm sorry…that was stupid of me to say all that," he began, trying to cover up his idiotic confession._

_Suddenly, Kagome was pushing him onto his back and kissing him senseless enough to forget why he'd been so uncertain about how she would react to his confession of love. When she finally pulled away, she gazed down at him._

_"__I love you, too, silly boy," she replied. "More than anything…" Inuyasha pulled her back down to kiss her again, this time wrapping her tightly in his embrace. Her hair tickled his cheeks as he briefly planted a kiss on her cheek then moved down to place lingering kisses on her neck. She sighed before pulling back and smiling at him._

_"__You and me forever, right?" she asked. Inuyasha moved his hand to her cheek and gently stroked it with his thumb._

_"__Forever," he promised._

Inuyasha shook himself out of the memory. This was no time to be reliving stupid teenage fantasies. They'd only been seventeen when they'd first said they loved each other; what did they know about love and _forever_?

He sighed. Maybe more than he realized.

"How's your family doing?" he asked, focusing his attention back on packing up the trophies.

He heard Kagome follow suit as she resumed her packing of the CDs.

"They're good," she replied. "Sota is really smart." Inuyasha could hear the smile in her voice. "He's been on the honor roll every year since he started high school. He's graduating next year." Inuyasha shook his head.

"I can't believe it," he replied. "He's seventeen now, right?" Kagome nodded.

"Yep. He has a job, a car, and he's already got some colleges interested in him for soccer. He's all grown up." Inuyasha smiled.

"That's great," he replied. "How's your mom?" He noticed Kagome pause for a moment before she answered, but he didn't comment.

"She's good. As wonderful as ever. Grandpa is good, too." Inuyasha cracked a grin.

"And Buyo? Is he still fat?" Kagome laughed.

"Buyo has never _not_ been fat," she replied humorously. Inuyasha remembered her ridiculously fat cat, Buyo, with a fondness he couldn't explain. He'd always hated cats, but Buyo had been the sole exception.

Inuyasha met her gaze and saw that the sense of longing had returned to Kagome's eyes. Inuyasha was planning to avoid it for as long as possible.

"So are you hungry?" he asked. Kagome shrugged.

"I could eat." Inuyasha pulled his phone out of his pocket.

"I'll order a pizza."

A few minutes later, the pizza had been ordered and Inuyasha and Kagome had gone back to packing.

As Inuyasha put the last of his trophies in the box, he heard Kagome sigh longingly.

"Remember this song?" she asked softly as Inuyasha turned to her in concern.

"I'd almost forgotten about that one," Inuyasha murmured as he heard _Every Heart_ begin to play. It had been the song that played during their first slow dance during freshman year of high school. It was how everything had begun for them.

Kagome reached out her hand.

"For old time's sake?"

Inuyasha hesitated, but found he couldn't resist. His hands came to rest on her waist, her arms coming up around his neck.

Her touch was familiar, achingly so, and he was physically pained as he realized how long it had been since he'd felt the force that was Kagome Higurashi.

They swayed back and forth, just listening to the music and relishing in the memories it brought back…

_The lights were low in the gym, and Inuyasha took it as a cue that the first slow dance of the night was about to play. He was still trying to work up the nerve to ask her to dance. _

_He'd liked her since middle school, but had only really become friends with her since they were placed in the same math class that year. On the first day, she had sat next to him by her own choice…that had to mean something, right?_

_Not to mention the fact that he'd noticed her glancing at him out of the corner of her eye several times during class throughout the last few weeks. Whenever he would look back at her and their eyes would meet, she would blush but smile nonetheless before looking away._

_He considered asking her to the dance, but had chickened out._

_But he had a plan. He was going to ask her to dance and then he was going to tell her how he felt…maybe. If he could just muster up the nerve._

_He saw her standing over with one of her friends. A guy came over and asked the friend to dance, so Kagome was left standing alone. It didn't seem like she minded, though. It almost seemed like she was waiting, too…_

_Inuyasha started to walk over to her. Before he could reach her, he saw another guy, whom he recognized as Hojo who'd been obviously into Kagome since elementary school, walk up to her and hold out his hand. The obvious invitation to dance made Inuyasha cringe. He sucked in a breath and immediately turned around to walk away. Cheeks aflame, pride hit, he was mentally punching himself for waiting too long._

_As the first few notes of _Every Heart _began to play, Inuyasha felt someone tap his shoulder. Upon turning around, he saw Kagome looking up at him with a shy smile on his face._

_"__Hi," she said. "Do you want to dance?" Shocked into silence at the apparent rejection she'd given the other guy, Inuyasha could only nod._

_Her arms went around his neck and his hands came to gently rest on her waist. She smiled up at him again._

_"__Can I tell you a secret?" she asked. Inuyasha looked down at her in awe._

_"__Yeah," he croaked out. She chuckled._

_"__The only good thing about that stupid math class," she began, "is that I got to actually know you. You are…I can't explain it, but…there's just something about you and…"_

_Inuyasha cut her off with a chaste kiss on her cheek._

_It lasted all but a second, with him soon pulling back with flaming cheeks and avoiding her gaze._

_"__I feel the same way," he said. "So…um…"_

_Kagome laughed and put her hands on his cheeks to gently guide his eyes back to hers._

_"__I've been waiting all semester to tell you," she admitted. "I didn't even know if I could work up the nerve, but now…" Inuyasha finally smiled back at her._

_"__Would you like to, maybe, go on a date with me?" he asked, the epitome of the innocence that is young love._

_She kissed him then, so he figured it was a yes._

In the present, Inuyasha reached up and laid a hand on her cheek, much like she had done to him back then, basking in the way her eyes bore into his, that same adoration he remembered finding its way into them.

Before he could do anything else, the song ended.

It was the last one on the tape, so they were cloaked in silence.

"Inuyasha," Kagome murmured. "I'm sorry." Inuyasha dropped his hands at the apology.

"There's no need to dwell on the past," he replied gruffly as he turned away from her.

He felt her hand settle on his arm.

"You're here," she insisted. "You came to town for the first time in three years. You came into the candy store on the _one_ day a week I work there. I don't think that's a coincidence." Inuyasha frowned and met her gaze.

"What do you want from me, Kagome?" he asked harshly. "You're the one that ended things between us. I don't know why you're trying to bring it up again." Kagome looked taken aback.

"Inuyasha," she began, the calm tone in her voice begin to morph into anger. "Don't be like that." Inuyasha's temper flared.

"You ended things!" he shouted. "Why would I _ever_ want to talk about it with you of all people?" Kagome's eyes narrowed.

"Well, here you are three years later," she retorted. "Were you even going to call me to say you were in town?"

"What did you expect, Kagome?" Inuyasha asked angrily. "_You_ were the one that ended things. _You_ were the one that _fell in love_ _with someone else_ when we were still together. _You_ were the one that wouldn't pick up my calls or even talk to me after. I had no _opportunity_ to say goodbye to you. So did you actually think that that I would call you up now after you broke me like that?" Kagome was stunned into silence.

"Why?" Inuyasha asked, his voice much quieter now. "I just...I had to leave. I couldn't stay here if you weren't in my life." Kagome grimaced, a similar guilty expression he remembered from that night.

It had been a week after he'd graduated with his associate's degree. It was one of the best days of his life. He'd been planning to propose to Kagome.

On the day he'd bought the ring, he took Kagome to where they'd had their first date. It was a crappy little oden place, but he knew it would mean a lot to Kagome. After they had dinner there, he'd planned on taking her to the park with all of the cherry blossom trees. She'd loved them.

But just as he was about to pull the ring out after dinner at the park, Kagome had looked at him with a pained look on her face.

And then she had ended it.

"_I'm sorry, Inuyasha…but we need to break up." Inuyasha's heart fell into his stomach._

_"__What?" he asked dumbly. "I don't…" He was cut off by Kagome abruptly standing up._

_"__Where are you going?" he asked, still in shock. She avoided his gaze._

_"__I have to go," she said quickly as she began to walk away._

_He caught her hand before she could run off._ _"__Kagome, why? That doesn't make any sense."_ _She stopped, but didn't look at him. "I'm in love with someone else. I'm sorry."_

_Inuyasha couldn't describe what he was feeling; the first thing that came to his mind was pure anguish…_

_What she was saying refused to compute in his mind._ _"__What?"_

_Kagome wrenched her hand out of his grasp._ _"__I fell in love with someone else. I don't love you anymore, Inuyasha. Now please just leave me alone." She ran from him then, and he didn't try to stop her again._

That had been three years ago. He hadn't seen or heard from her since.

He'd gone home that day and threw the ring in his closet and, embarrassingly enough, cried into his pillow. The whole thing was just so _odd_. In the days that followed, she'd ignored all his calls and all his texts. Every time he'd gone to her house, she "wasn't home."

He'd moved a week later and didn't return until this trip.

Inuyasha's mind felt like it was going to explode. He went and sat down on the bed and put his head in his hands.

"I'm so sorry," she said, her voice shaking. He looked up at her, surprised to see that despite her wavering voice, she wasn't crying.

That was odd for her. She'd always been rather emotional, but he hadn't minded. She was more in touch with her emotions than he was, always crying at sad movies or the few and far-between romantic gestures he'd done.

She sighed.

"You know I haven't cried in three years?" she asked randomly. Inuyasha was surprised.

"I cried for days after I ended things, and then after I found out you left, but then…the tears just stopped. I haven't cried since." Inuyasha scoffed.

"Didn't you have that other guy to comfort you after I left?" he asked sarcastically.

Kagome looked at him with an unfathomable expression on her face. It didn't look like she was planning on answering.

Inuyasha persisted. "What about the guy? Are you two still together?"

He wasn't sure if he actually wanted an answer to that; the question had just flown out of his mouth.

"No."

Inuyasha went through a wide range of motions: relief, anger, betrayal, but most of all, just plain _hurt_.

"So…you ended our five-year relationship for some guy that didn't even last?" he accused. Kagome's eyes flashed, her fists clenched and he saw rage replace the unfathomable expression.

"_Shut up!_" she shouted. "You don't know anything! You're such an _idiot_!" Inuyasha was shocked into silence. Before he could open his mouth to argue, Kagome continued.

"How could you have ever thought it was possible for me to fall in love with someone else when I had you?" she asked. "You gave up so easily! I wanted you to leave, but then when you actually did, it broke me just as much as it broke you!"

Inuyasha stared at her, dumbfounded. "What are you talking about?"

Kagome's mouth snapped shut as she appeared to realize what she had said. He heard her breath catch and a wild look came into her eyes. She immediately shook her head and looked like she was about to run out of the room.

Before she could, Inuyasha gripped her arm to keep her there. He kept his grip gentle, the opposite of the intense feeling that was inching into his gut.

"_Kagome_," he said desperately. "Please, tell me."

Kagome finally turned back, a desolate look on her face.

She shook her head. "There was never another guy." Her voice sounded empty. "I never fell in love with anyone else." Inuyasha's eyes widened.

"_What?_"

"You wanted to leave this town so badly," she began quietly, "and I would have followed you anywhere…but my mom got sick two weeks before we graduated with our associate's degrees." She looked up to gaze into his eyes. Inuyasha was shocked.

"You never told me that," he replied. "Is she okay?" Kagome sighed.

"She's fine now," she said. "It was cancer, but she's better. It was a long treatment process." She frowned.

"Inuyasha, you talked about traveling and going all the way to Shikon University all the time," she continued. "It made you just light up. I knew that it was something you wanted to do _so_ badly, so I didn't tell you that I _had_ to stay. I didn't tell you that my mom was sick because I knew you would want to stay with me because that's just how you were." Inuyasha's heart wrenched. "So I made up the story about another guy and then I just…cut you off. I was young. I was scared about my mom and I didn't know what I was doing. I'm sorry."

Inuyasha was shocked.

"I…I don't know what to say," he replied, running a hand down his face. He suddenly felt exhausted. "But…you're right. If you'd told me about your mom, I would have stayed with you." Kagome nodded.

"I know," she replied. "And you would have begun to resent me for it eventually." Inuyasha shook his head.

"Never," he retorted quietly. "I loved you so much, Kagome. The only thing that could make me happy was being with you. It didn't matter where we were or what I was doing. Or we could have done long-distance until I graduated and then I could have come back and worked here." Kagome shook her head right back at him.

"You wouldn't have wanted to stay in this town after you graduated. This town is tiny…there wouldn't have been enough work for an architect." Inuyasha frowned. She had a point there.

"Don't you think that you meant more to me than _any_ of that other stuff?" he asked. Kagome looked at him pleadingly.

"Inuyasha, just stop," she begged. "I didn't want you to do that for me. We were _so_ young when we got together. We were together for five years, I know, but we were still kids. I thought you would get over it." She scoffed. "I thought _I_ would get over it." Inuyasha's eyes bore into hers.

"Did you?" he asked. Kagome looked caught off-guard by the question. After hesitating for a moment, she shook her head.

"No," she admitted. "We were only twenty when you left, and I was stupid enough to think that we were young enough to get over it. I truly thought that I would. I tried to convince myself that we were too young to really know what love was, but I don't think I could ever have a truer love than what we had."

Inuyasha's heart was breaking, much like it was three years ago when she'd broken up with him and he'd left. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"It's been three years, though, Inuyasha," she continued. "I'm not the same girl I was, and I know you're not the same boy you were." She smiled sadly. "That's just how things are now."

Inuyasha frowned, but didn't know what to say to that.

"Yeah," he managed to croak out. They stared at each other then, neither knowing quite what to say after all the confessions, all the revelations.

_Ding dong!_

The sound of the doorbell made them both jump.

The term _saved by the bell _came to mind. He had almost completely forgotten that he'd ordered a pizza.

"I'll get it," Inuyasha murmured as he left the room.

Kagome followed him silently. A dark cloud had set over them; he knew she could feel it just as much as he could.

As he got the pizza, he wondered if the delivery boy could feel it, too.

Maybe he was losing his mind.

Inuyasha brought the pizza into the kitchen where he found Kagome pulling out plates and cups.

They quietly grabbed their slices and poured their drinks from the soda bottle Inuyasha had ordered.

When they finally sat down at the table, Inuyasha figured he should break the eerie silence.

"So…your mom is okay now?" he asked before taking a bite of pizza.

"Yeah," Kagome replied. "It was stage two breast cancer. She did chemo for a while. She's in remission so she's fine now."

"That's a big relief," he said as he took another bite of pizza.

"Do you ever talk to Sesshomaru?" Kagome asked. "Or are things the same with him?" Inuyasha rolled his eyes.

"He owns the corporation I work for," he replied. "So I see him every day." Kagome laughed.

"You poor thing," she teased. "Is he still just as terrible?" Inuyasha couldn't help but smile.

"Honestly, not really," he replied. "He got married last year. That really changed him." Kagome smiled back.

"She must be an interesting girl." Inuyasha thought about Rin, his new sister-in-law. She and Sesshomaru made quite a pair, but seeing the two of them together was all he needed to know that they were perfect for each other.

"She's the opposite of Sesshomaru," he replied. "But…they're good together. And I support anything that makes the stick up Sesshomaru's butt come out a bit." Kagome burst out laughing. It was the same laugh he'd heard so many times before. Nostalgia was his constant companion tonight.

"And your mom?" Kagome asked. "I didn't know she was sick or that she had even moved. What happened?" Inuyasha sighed.

"After I got a job in the town where I live now, she decided to move out there to be closer to me," he explained. "About a month ago, she got a really bad case of pneumonia. You remember how outdoorsy she was?" Kagome nodded. "Well, it's colder where we live, and she always liked the shorter summer heat we had. She fell asleep outside one night. It got colder than she expected and she got sick. She didn't ever recover." Kagome shook her head.

"I'm so sorry," she murmured sincerely. "She was a wonderful woman. I loved her."

Inuyasha took the last bite of his pizza. "Yeah. I miss her."

He looked up to find Kagome watching him. She turned away quickly and stood up to clear her plate.

She grabbed Inuyasha's as well and went to the sink to wash them.

Inuyasha stood up and, for the first time that night, felt a bit awkward. It cut through his sadness. Kagome was here, in his childhood home. She hadn't been here in so long, and the circumstances made everything feel so _wrong_.

After the dishes were clean and her hands were dry, Inuyasha spoke.

"Do you wanna head up to my room?" Kagome laughed.

"I can't even count how many times you've said that to me," she teased. Inuyasha grinned.

"Yeah, I was pretty smooth."

Kagome laughed again as she followed him upstairs.

They worked in silence as they finished clearing out his bedroom. Inuyasha cleared out his dresser while Kagome cleared out the closet.

"What is this?" Kagome asked suddenly, her voice shaky. Inuyasha looked up quickly, surprised by the sudden change in her tone.

Kagome turned around and held up a small box that he'd tossed in his closet three years ago.

The engagement ring.

"It's…well…" Inuyasha stuttered. He had no idea what to say.

Kagome opened the box and gasped at the sight of the ring.  
"Inuyasha," she began, "is this…an engagement ring?" Inuyasha, unable to find his voice, simply nodded.

"I was planning to propose," he admitted. "The night we went to the crappy oden restaurant…and the cherry blossom park…" Kagome's eyes widened.

"The night we broke up," she finished. Inuyasha winced.

"Well, yeah," he replied.

"I can't believe it," she murmured softly. "Inuyasha, I'm so sorry." Inuyasha shrugged.

"It's okay," he replied. "It's in the past now." Kagome looked down at the ring again.

"Why wouldn't you have returned it?" she asked. Inuyasha looked away from her.

"There was no point," he replied. "I didn't think I would ever find a love like ours again." Kagome reached out to gently touch his arm, bringing his attention back to her.

"Did you?"

Inuyasha looked into her eyes, allowing the memories to rush through him. _Should I be honest with her? It's not like any more damage could be done…_

"Kagome," he began seriously, "I haven't even looked at another woman since you." Kagome's eyes widened.

"There's been no one but you, Inuyasha," she admitted. "Only you."

He finally reached out to touch her, his hand coming to rest on her cheek.

"But I've changed," she said quietly. "I'm not the same girl I was." Inuyasha's thumbed ran over her cheek.

"I've changed, too," he murmured. "But…the part of me that loved you has stayed the same." Kagome closed her eyes and leaned her cheek into his palm.

"Me, too," she admitted softly.

It happened before they even realized it.

As if in perfect sync, their arms wrapped around each other and their lips met in a passionate kiss. Everything was heartbreakingly familiar, and Inuyasha felt a deep sense of loss for those three years he'd gone without kissing her.

He wrapped his arms around her back to pull her as close as possible. Kagome's arms came up to wrap around his neck as she kissed him deeply. He could feel that she'd missed him just as much as he'd missed her.

He didn't know how much time passed as they kissed in his childhood bedroom. The only thing that brought him back to the present was a sudden wetness on his cheeks. He pulled away from Kagome and looked at her to see tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Look what you did," she teased in a shaky voice, her tears nearly preventing the words from coming out. "You made me cry for the first time in three years." Inuyasha laughed and gently wiped her tears away before bringing her back to kiss her again.

"I love you," he murmured between kisses. "I never stopped…I will _never_ stop."

"I love you, too," Kagome replied, tightening her embrace. "It's you, Inuyasha. _Always_ you."

Inuyasha knew it would take time for them to relearn and to find out what had changed in each other, but he knew that their connection and the love between them would guide the way to their future.

Because Inuyasha loved Kagome, and Kagome loved Inuyasha.

And that was enough.

**FIN.**

I hope you all enjoyed my little spontaneous come-back! My current chapter fics are all still on semi-hiatus. I hesitantly say that because, although I've been working on them, I don't want to start posting until I can really get into a steady rhythm. I got into a habit of posting just to post before properly editing, and sometimes that produces crappy work lollll. So, yeah, my chapter fics are a little uncertain, but they will eventually get done. One-shots are different; whenever I have a one-shot idea, I will write it and post it. Keep an eye out for more coming soon!

I have returned!

Much love,

Jane (goshinote)


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